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Skin of Evil (episode)
The crew encounters an entity of pure evil, costing them the life of a dear comrade. Summary Teaser The is flying through space at impulse, with the main warp nacelles deactivated. The crew is conducting maintenance of the ship's dilithium crystals. The Enterprise is passing through the Zed Lapis sector, where it will rendezvous with Shuttlecraft 13, carrying Counselor Deanna Troi, who is returning from a conference, along with the shuttle pilot, Lieutenant Ben Prieto. On the bridge, Lieutenant Worf tells Lieutenant Natasha Yar that deep space probes have picked up no vessels within three light years. Worf then shifts the conversation towards the martial arts competition on the Enterprise in three days. He asks Yar if she is ready. She replies that she needs some practice with the Mishiama wristlock, and if she can use it on Worf, she can use it on anybody. Yar is concerned about being beaten by Enterprise officers Swenson and Minnerly, but Worf boosts her confidence by telling her that she is favored in the ship's pool to win. Yar asks Worf if he placed a bet on her. Worf replies that it is a sure thing. Yar then looks at Worf with a smile. Worf, embarrased, moves away. Helmsman Lieutenant Geordi La Forge notes that the Enterprise will meet up with the shuttle in an hour. Suddenly, Worf recieves an emergency transmission from the shuttle. The shuttle's computer is severely damaged and impulse engines are offline. Lieutenant Commander Data reports that the shuttle is near Vagra II, an uninhabited planet. Prieto then reports that the shuttle is out of control and has been caught by Vagra II's gravity. Act One In main engineering, chief engineer of the Enterprise, Lieutenant Commander Leland T. Lynch, along with his engineering crew, are quickly re-aligning the dilithium crystals into the warp reactor. Ignoring the final safety check requested by the ship's computer, Lynch reinitializes the dilithium reaction and the Enterprise now has warp drive restored. Lynch advises Captain Jean-Luc Picard to go to the lowest warp speed possible, but Picard sets course for Vagra II at warp eight. The Enterprise arrvies at Vagra II, although the ship is not reading the emergency signal from the shuttle. Data runs a scan of the planet. There is no vegetation and no lifeforms on the planet, but the atmosphere is breathable for humans. Worf locates the shuttle on the planet. It appears to be buried under debris. Picard asks if they can beam up Troi and Prieto, however, the debris appears to be blocking the ship's sensors. Picard, seeing this as strange, orders Commander William T. Riker to prepare an away team. He chooses Data and Yar. Picard signals Doctor Beverly Crusher to join them. On Vagra II, the shuttle's nacelle has been ripped off and the shuttle itself is imbedded within a rock face. The away team materializes on the barren surface of the planet. Dr. Crusher notes that the signals inside the shuttle are weak. The away team begins to walk over to the shuttle, but a giant black liquid pool is blocking the way. Dr, Crusher asks the away team to walk around it, just to be on the safe side. However, the black substance follows the away team to the right side. Yar suggests that they go to the left, but the substance still follows them. Riker asks if the creature has a skeletal structure. Data scans with his tricorder, however, he cannot confirm Riker's question. Picard asks Data if the black substance is a lifeform. Again, Data cannot confirm. Then, a figure begins to emerge from the black liquid. Picard asks "Number One, what do you see?" Riker replies "Trouble". Act Two Picard signals Riker and comes to the conclusion that the placement of the creature and the shuttle's crash landing cannot be a coincidence. Picard asks Riker to try to communicate with the creature. Riker greets the creature. The creature states that his name is Armus. He asks why the crew is there. Riker explains that they mean no harm and they have injured crewmembers on the shuttle. He asks permission to pass over. Armus states that he still has not given him a good enough reason. Riker states that perserving life is important to all humans. Armus suggests the Enterprise crew leave the planet. Yar walks up to Armus and says that they will not leave without their crew and that they will not harm him. Yar begins to walk over to the shuttle and she is hit by a blast of energy from Armus and thrown away. Riker and Data react quickly and fire their phasers at Armus. Dr. Crusher rushes over to Yar, followed by Riker and Data. Picard asks for a report on the situation. Data says they fired on Armus, but their phasers had no effect on him. He seemed to feed off their energy. Armus retreats back into the black liquid. Picard inquires about Yar's condition. After scanning her body, Dr. Crusher grimly reports that Yar is dead. Picard tells the transporter chief to beam up the away team quickly. The away team rematerializes on the transporter pad. Dr. Crusher reports that they will have to get Yar to sickbay immediately if they are to revive her. Picard tells Worf to put the ship on yellow alert and leaves the bridge for sickbay. In sickbay, Dr. Crusher and her medical assistants are desperately trying to revive Yar. Picard asks for a report on Yar's condition. Crusher reports that it is unchanged. Riker and Data stand in the back, watching. Dr. Crusher puts Yar on total life support, but Yar is still not responding and her synaptic network is breaking down. Dr. Crusher, seeing no other choice, decides to go for direct reticular stimulation. The energy goes into Yar's body, but she is still flatlining. Dr. Crusher then pronounces Yar officially dead. Act Three On Vagra II, Armus moves toward the shuttle. Inside, Lieutenant Prieto is unconcious, lying down on his console. Troi is uninjured. She taps her combadge and tries to contact the ship. Armus is blocking the communication. She can feel Armus' presence. Armus taunts her by saying that her friends deserted her and even killed one of them. Troi says she knows, she felt her die. Armus then says that he wanted to kill Yar to amuse himself. Troi tells him that he thought it would amuse him, but it did not. Troi senses he has a great need for something. Troi asks Armus to let her and Prieto go, and that the crew of the Enterprise will not give him what he wants, to break their spirit. Armus replies that if breaking their spirit amuses him, he will do it. In the conference room on the Enterprise, the senior officers are arguing over Yar's death and how she did nothing to provoke Armus. Only Worf and Picard remain silent. Picard taps the table with his finger. Picard tells the crew that Yar's death is painful for all of them, but they will have to put it aside until the crisis is resolved. Picard makes Worf an acting chief of security. Worf accepts. Picard asks about the condition of the shuttle crew. Crusher says the life signs are faint, but the sensor readings are fluctuating, which means they may not be accurate. Riker asks to go down to the planet again. La Forge volunteers to join the away team; his VISOR may see something in Armus that the other crewmembers may not see. Picard agrees. Riker asks Worf to join them, but Worf believes he will be better used at tactical. Act Four The away team sees Armus stretched out on the shuttle. Armus is surprised that the away team came back for Troi and Prieto. Troi senses something in Armus, that he was abandoned by his kind. Troi says he cannot hide the emptiness he feels from her. Armus goes back to his liquid state. Back on the Enterprise, Worf and acting Ensign Wesley Crusher are monitoring Armus from a science station. Worf notes that Armus' energy went down when he enveloped the shuttlecraft. Picard asks them to chart it and see if there is a pattern. The away team beams down again. Armus returns to his humanoid state and speaks with Riker. La Forge examines Armus with his VISOR discreetly as Riker pleads with Armus to see their injured crewmembers, with Dr. Crusher making an empassioned plea to Armus. Armus says she can, but only if she says please. Crusher submits to Armus' strange request and he allows her to communicate with Troi via combadge. Troi responds and says she is fine. Armus is angered when the crew continues to ask him about going over and helping their crewmembers, which he views as ungrateful. He then rises up again, but taller than before. Armus uses his powers to throw Data's phaser and La Forge's VISOR away. La Forge, blinded, falls to his knees looking for his VISOR. Data tries to help him, but Armus warns him not to. Armus plays a few games with moving the VISOR around, until he allows Data to help him find it. When Troi tries to analyze Armus, he becomes enraged again, he shakes the shuttle, then moves over to the away team. Suddenly, Riker falls to the ground and is drug toward Armus' liquid state. Riker is then submerged into Armus, with Armus warning the away team that if any of them leave, Riker will die. The away team gets a glimpse of Riker's face in the black liquid, seemingly lifeless. Picard, after seeing the grave danger his crewmembers are in, decides to beam down. Troi, feeling her imzadi, Riker, in pain, pleads with Armus to let him go. Armus continues taunting Troi, with her begging him to let the away team go. He considers it, but then realizes that Picard has beamed down. Picard asks if Riker is still alive. Data surmises that, since death can no longer alliviate Armus' boredom, the Riker is, indeed, still alive. Picard asks to see his crewmembers, and Armus asks Picard to entertain him, but Picard refuses. Armus replies that he will have to provide entertainment for himself. Act Five Data, under Armus' influence, takes out his phaser and points it at Crusher and then Picard. Armus asks Data how he would feel if he was responsible for the death of Captain Picard. Data notes that he is not in control of himself, thus he would not be an instrument of his death. Armus then makes Data point the phaser at Dr. Crusher, then La Forge, the finally, has Data point the phaser at his head. Data finally has Armus drop the phaser from his hand. Data feels that Armus must be destroyed, since he is capable of cruelty and sadism and he cannot be reedemed. Picard then asks Armus if he can see Troi and Prieto. Armus lets Picard see one member of his crew, Commander Riker, covered in black, who is finally brought up to the surface by Armus. Picard tells Armus that this is now between him and Armus. He tells Armus to let the Enterprise beam up the remaining members of the away team. They are beamed back to the ship. Picard is finally allowed to see Troi and is taken there by Armus. Picard, in the shuttle, checks Prieto's pulse, while Troi asks if they were able to revive Yar. Picard, regretfully, tells her no. Troi is saddened by the loss of her friend, but Picard tries to make her focus on defeating Armus. Picard is taken back outside, where he talks with Armus, trying to distract him so the Enterprise will be able to beam out Troi and Prieto. Picard enrages Armus, when he threatens to kill Picard and the shuttle crewmembers, by saying that if he murders them, he will still be immortal and alone, forever, on Vagra II. Armus lets out an angry scream, finally, Armus is distracted enough and the Enterprise beams out Troi, Prieto and Picard, with Armus still enraged. Back on the Enterprise, Picard orders that the shuttle be destroyed, so that Armus will not have a chance to leave Vagra II and declares the planet off-limits. Still, as Picard notes in his log, the damage has already been done. On the holodeck, a funeral for Yar has begun. All of the senior staff attend the service, including Worf, Data, La Forge, Beverly and Wesley Crusher, Riker, Troi and Picard. To begin the service, a hologram of Yar is played, with her noting all of the exceptional qualities that each member of the crew possess and what she learned from them. The service concludes when the hologram of Yar fades away. Everyone leaves the holodeck, except Data and Picard. Data notes that, during the service, he was not thinking about Yar, but how empty it will be without her. He asks if he missed the point of the service, but Picard assures him that he understood it completely. Log Entries * Captain's log, USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D), 2364 Memorable Quotes "You say you are true evil? Shall I tell you what true evil is? It is to submit to you. It is when we surrender our freedom, our dignity, instead of defying you." : - Captain Picard to Armus "Lieutenant Yar's death is very painful for all of us. We will have to deal with it as best we can for now. Until the shuttle crew are safely beamed aboard the ship, our feeling will have to wait, is that understood? Lieutenant Worf, you're now acting chief of security." "I will do my best, sir." : - Captain Picard and Worf "My friend Data, you see things with the wonder of a child. And that makes you more Human than any of us." : - Tasha Yar, in her recorded message "Hailing frequencies closed, sir." : - Tasha Yar, her last words from her hologram at her funeral "I find my thoughts are not for Tasha, but for myself. I keep thinking, how empty it will be without her presence. Did I miss the point?" "No... no, you didn't, Data. You got it." : - Data and Jean-Luc Picard Background Information *This episode marks the death of Natasha Yar. *The original title was "The Shroud" and during the holodeck scene, Commander Riker was supposed to show "signs of the shroud" on his face. *The stardate for this episode is inconsistent with the fact that Tasha Yar died. This episode's stardate is 41601.3, but in , stardate 41997.7, she is alive and well. *When Riker was sucked into Armus, Jonathan Frakes was in fact submerged in a pool of Metamucil and printer's ink. During a break in filming while Frakes was lying on the beach, covered in the sludge, LeVar Burton approached him and said "Frakes, I never would have done that!" *Denise Crosby has stated that had there been more scenes like the one at the beginning of the episode between her and Worf then she may have considered staying on the show. *After Armus pulls Commander Riker into itself, the rest of the away team run up to it, and La Forge's phaser falls from its holster into the slick. *When Armus seizes control of Data's arm, he grabs a phaser, however, Armus had previously sucked Data's phaser and tricorder away from him when he says "perhaps your instruments are useless?" *Although Tasha Yar dies in this episode, Denise Crosby's name remains on the opening credits for the remainder of the season. *This is also Wesley Crusher's final appearance for the season. *When the dilithium-crystal are realigned, the matter/anti-matter intermix ratio is set to 25:1. This contradicts Wesley Crusher's statement in the earlier episode that there is only one intermix ratio, 1:1. Production history * Final draft script: - still called "The Shroud" * Revised final draft script: * Premiere airdate: Video and DVD releases *Original UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 12, . *UK re-release (three-episode tapes, Paramount Home Entertainment): Volume 1.8, . *As part of the TNG Season 1 DVD collection. Links and References Guest Stars * Mart McChesney as Armus Co-Stars * Ron Gans as Voice of Armus * Walker Boone as Leland T. Lynch *Brad Zerbst as Nurse * Raymond Forchion as Ben Prieto *Guy Vardaman as Darien Wallace (uncredited) References betting pool; central nervous system; dilithium; dilithium assembly; direct reticular stimulation; flight control computer; imzadi; kickboxing; microvolts; Minnerly; Mishiama wristlock; neural stimulator; norep; neurons; Shelley, Percy Bysshe; shuttlecraft 13; Swenson; titans; Transporter Room Four; Vagra II; Vagra system; z-particle; Zed Lapis sector |next= }} Category:TNG episodes de:Die schwarze Seele es:Skin of Evil fr:Skin of Evil nl:Skin of Evil